INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
rates on essential Corona virus supplies, with some even suggesting that they should be made tax-free.Incidentally the meeting, which is
Sitharaman, this would be the 43rd meeting of the GST council and will be conducted through video conferencing owing to the raging Corona
virus pandemic.In fact finance ministers of several states had been urging upon Ms Sitharaman to call the meeting of the GST council at the
earliest to discuss the above mentioned matter.The pressure of holding the meeting on the Centre was all the more as the previous GST
Sitharaman had clarified that doing away with the 5 per cent GST on Corona vaccines will negatively impact the prices as "manufacturers
substantive issues that have been raised in the past.Earlier on May 12, West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra had written to Ms
earmarked for states in 2021-22.With states imposing lockdowns due to the second Covid-19 wave, their compensation could be much higher than
discuss another key issue of compensation to states as well as bringing natural gas into the indirect tax fold.States want an extension of
the GST compensation beyond July 2022 as economic uncertainty continues in the wake of the pandemic.States were promised compensation for
five years after GST implementation in July 2017 to make up for revenue shortfall, if any
This was done as states lost autonomy over indirect taxes due to the GST rollout.
